1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method of and an apparatus for mechanically washing large-sized aircraft.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Hitherto, washing of aircraft has been conducted manually by workers. In case of large-sized aircraft such as Jumbo Jet airliners, the washing is quite laborious and time consuming: namely, it takes 3 to 4 hours to complete the washing by about 20 workers.
Actually, however, the washing has to be done in a short time after the necessary maintenance work which is conducted while the aircraft is waiting for the next flight in an airport. Therefore, it is often experienced that the aircraft cannot be washed completely due to too short a turn round time.
The periodic and frequent washing of aircraft is quite important from the view points of good appearance of the aircraft, prevention of rust and elongation of life of paint, as well as for reduction of fuel consumption through a reduction in air resistance.
Under these circumstances, there is an increasing demand for a mechanical facility which is capable of washing aircraft by only a few workers in a short time of, for example, 1 hour.
To cope with this demand, the present inventors have already proposed an aircraft washing method and apparatus in co-pending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 722,972 filed on Apr. 12, 1985.
Basically, the method disclosed in the above-mentioned patent application employs a turn table for stationing an aircraft thereon, and a number of washing brush units which are adapted to wash local portions of the aircraft while changing their postures in accordance with the configuration of the aircraft. In operation, the turn table is rotated slowly such as to progressively vary the areas covered by the washing brushes, so that the whole of the aircraft is washed completely while the turn table makes one full rotation.
It is true that this method can appreciably shorten the washing time as compared with the conventional manual washing method. However, considering that only a few washing brush units are employed and that each brush unit can cover only a limited area in a given time, there still is the possibility of the washing time being further shortened.